The Staff Of Naught Part 13

Khemer ripped off his burning cloak and threw it to the ground at his feet and stared at Ariana who stood over the fallen form of Lousa. "What does a child know of Elucidor the last Mage King of Das'von?" he said to her with a sneer. "No matter, now be a good girl and I'll kill you quickly so you can join your mommy." He raised the staff, smiled a terrible smile, and suddenly his expression went blank and he collapsed to the ground. Behind him stood Tylan holding the ma.s.sive bugbear hammer in both of his hands having just brought it down upon the former ghost's head.

The boy looked from the hammer to the fallen Khemer and then to Ariana and then broke into a lopsided little grin. Ariana did not notice because she turned her full attention to Lousa who lay on the ground completely still. The girl reached down to touch her and immediately pulled her hand back as if she had put it into a fire, "She's cold!"

Hazlebub heard the remark from the ground where she still sat after taking the blow to the face. Her right cheek felt numb as did her ear on the same side but she shook her head with a strange little brrbbb sound and crawled over to Lousa and Ariana. The witch put her hand on the woman's heart and then leaned down and put her warmer ear against the chest of her stricken ally. "She's still alive, Ariana, but we have to get her warm. Go, quick, find blankets." Next the witch turned to Tylan who still stood over the corpse of Khemer, held the ma.s.sive hammer that was a tall as he, and wore the same goofy grin. "Get over yourself," admonished the witch. "Get that fire blazing," then she turned to Shalalee, "You, girl, help me drag Lousa to the fire."

"Let me go!" shrieked a high pitched voice a moment later and Shamki and Unerus came back from around the small rocky outcropping, a little man with strangely wrinkled features and enormous ears held between them. Shamki had him by the collar and lifted him almost completely off the ground while little Unerus walked behind the two his small sword at the ready in case the fellow made a break for it. Shamki came over to the fire that Tylan stoked manfully and blasted great lungs full of air onto it while Hazlebub, Almara, and Shalalee gently placed Lousa down next to it.

"Is she going to be all right," asked Ariana a tear in her eye. "He said it was going to be all right."

"Who said it was going to be all right," said Tanner as he joined the little group.

Ariana looked up and then around and stuttered for a moment but was spared further question by a fresh outbreak from the little prisoner. "I'll not be manhandled by the likes of you; I am Lorim Gimplestrange, Trade Master of Hot Rock, and Overseer of all the goods to and from the forge of Edorin Firefist. I know you Tanner Wilmer; if you do not call off this beast immediately I'll ban you from the mountain!"

Tanner did a quick double-take and looked at the little man and his eyes opened wide. "That is Trade Master Lorim," said the merchant. "Shamki, I think you can let him go."

Shamki lifted the creature completely off the ground and gave him a quick, rattling, shake or two and then let him fall to the ground with a thump.

Lorim rubbed the part of him that hit the ground first and glared at the half-orc, "Don't think I won't remember this," he shouted his eyes blazing and his long tongue lolling out of his mouth. "I'm a man of great importance and you are nothing!"

"What are you doing here?" asked Tanner.

The little gnome-like man swiveled his head to Tanner and then back to the big half-orc. "I came ... I was traveling ... I ... it's merely a coincidence. It's a good thing I came along though and was able to warn you about the Bugbears who attacked. If not for my shouting out you all might have been killed."

"No doubt we owe you a debt," said Tanner although he smiled and it did not seem to be in a particularly friendly way. "Perhaps someday we will be able to repay you in kind."

"Yes, er, that sounds fair," said Lorim and squinted at the man.

"The fog is lifting," said Shalalee as she and her brother piled more logs upon the quickly growing blaze.

"You can see some color in her cheeks," said Ariana as she gently rubbed Lousa's hands between her own.

"She'll be fine," said Hazlebub to the girl. "You just keep rubbing her hands like that. Shalalee, you do her feet."

The young girl immediately sprang to the task and took off the woman's leather boots with quick motions, "Her feet are so small, mine are bigger."

"So, Tanner," said the little man with a grimace on his face and he looked to Shamki. "What brings you to The Maw?"

"Trade goods as always," said the merchant with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You're here a little before your normal schedule aren't you," replied Lorim, his eyes darting over to the wagon and then to the stone circle.

"Trade has been good," he said. "I'm not averse to making more of a profit. I'm sure you agree?"

"Of course, profit is always good," said the little man, his tongue once again rapidly licked his lips as he smiled a gap-toothed little grin that revealed crooked rows of teeth. "You are traveling with a security guard these days then?"

Tanner shrugged. "The mountains are dangerous as you well know. We were attacked by fire scorpions yesterday and today bugbears. Although, that hammer that belongs to my son now looks sort of familiar. Doesn't that belong to the blacksmith in Hot Rock, what was his name ... Radus?"

"Radvor," said Lorim with a grimace. "He always was a greedy representative of his race. That does look like his hammer. I can't imagine what he was doing out here waylaying caravans. Perhaps he was drinking; he is p.r.o.ne to that weakness."

"Indeed, it has been a difficult morning already, Trade Master Lorim," said Tanner and walked over to the man. "Can I have Almara pour you something to drink?"

"That would be most kind of you, Tanner," said the little trade master with a bow. "Anything you have handy although you'll remember I have a rather refined palate."

A soft groan came from the woman on the ground as the two girls attended to her hands and feet and Hazlebub held a small vial open under her nose. With a snap of her head Lousa suddenly came awake, "Aweeh," she said and pushed away the witch's hand. "That's horrible."

Hazlebub cackled brightly, "That's good, dearie, that you can smell. We thought your pretty little nose might have frozen clean off."

Suddenly Lousa sat bolt upright and looked to the center of the circle of stones cleared of debris except for the body of Khemer. The woman scanned the ground for a moment and then turned to Ariana, "Did you pick it up? Where is it?"

Ariana suddenly gave a little squeal and followed Lousa's gaze to the circle where the dead former ghost lay but there was no sign of the staff. "It's gone!" she cried and lurched to her feet and ran over to where Khemer lay.

She began to stomp around and look for it when Shamki's voice called out with a bellow, "Stop." The girl froze in position and the big half-orc walked slowly over to her his eye down towards the ground. "No move," he said and kneeled down to examine the ground near the body and Unerus came up quietly behind him. The half-orc closed his eyes and began to take little sniffs in through his nose as he smoothed out the ground near the fallen ghost's hand. He sniffed again and then stood with a sudden motion and walked with determined strides towards Lorim and Tanner.

Almara had just enough time to hand a cup to the trade master when Shamki, arrived his eyes blazing with fire and his great fangs exposed. With a growl the half-orc slapped the tin cup from the hand of Lorim and liquid splashed to the ground as the cup made a hollow little clang as it hit a small rock. "Darkling," said Shamki. "Take!"

"I'm certain I have no idea what you are talking about," replied Lorim as he attempted to put on a face of calm but his eyes bulged out of his head and his body seemed to shrink away from Shamki.

The half-orc grabbed him by the collar and lifted him into the air, "Where?" he shouted his face only inches away from that of trade master.

"I ... I ... I don't know what you are talking about. Tanner, have this monstrosity put me down immediately or I'll revoke your trade license."

Tanner looked to the half-orc, "Shamki, I need that trade to survive."

Shamki looked down at the merchant and with a casual movement simply tossed the trader to the side like a sack of rice. Lorim sailed through the air and landed on one of his bulbous ears with a crash and shriek. "I'm broken," he yelled out. "Tanner, you'll pay for this humiliation."

"Come," said Shamki.

Lousa struggled to her feet. "Tanner, you stay with the woman and children. Shamki and I will find it and meet you in Hot Rock as soon we as can!"

"I'm not staying behind," said Unerus using the same low-toned voice of Shamki that seemed to be both quiet and loud at the same time.

"You'll need me to carry the staff," said Ariana and rose to her feet and ran after Shamki.

"d.a.m.n it," said Lousa and stomped her foot. "Doesn't anyone listen to adults anymore?"

"You'll need water and hardtack," said Almara, somehow with small cloth sacks already loaded with supplies that she held out at the ready.

"You'll be killed if you go up in those hills," said Lorim quietly. "Not that anyone will miss you."

Tanner looked to the trade master and reached down with a hand to help him up, "What do you know about all of this, Lorim?"

The trade master shrugged his shoulders and licked his lips, "Information has a price, and I'm always willing to make a bargain. Shall we head to Hot Rock and begin our negotiation? I don't like to stay out here on the exposed mountain. There could be a tremor or toxic gas release at any moment. It's much safer in town."

Tanner nodded his head as he watched Shamki head off with Lousa at his side and the two children right behind. Humbort stood on the edge of the circle and watched the four go and then turned back to the wagon and Tanner taking a step first in one direction and then a step back in the other so that he almost appeared to spin around in a circle. Finally the tall man seemed to make up his mind, "Stay with Shamki," he said aloud and began to trot after the other four.

Tanner watched them go feeling somehow useless, his shoulders slumped and his eyes downcast.

"Let the stupid be heroes," said Lorim as he sidled up next to Tanner with a smirk. "We tradesmen will just stay at home and lead our boring little lives and acc.u.mulate the wealth and power."

Tanner looked down at the little man and started to say something but then closed his mouth with an abrupt slam. "You will accompany us into town, trade master," he finally said and pointed towards his wagon where his wife and children had already packed things away.

"He walks too fast," said Ariana her little arms swinging back and forth as she tried to keep up with Shamki's huge strides. The half-orc seemed to move languidly, his motions smooth and even but somehow he managed to move among the boulders and rocks at a speed the girl could not maintain. Only a few hundred yards into the hills he was already far ahead of her and Humbort. Unerus, his arms pumping wildly, was able to keep up but only barely and Lousa was in between the two groups. "Wait, wait," called Ariana and the elf featured woman stopped, looked back at the two stragglers, and then paused herself.

"It's okay," said Humbort. "Shamki will wait. He always does. He's my best friend."

Ariana looked up at the tall fellow with the simple expression on his face. His features were narrow and gaunt but there was always that cheerful grin and she couldn't help but smile back at him. "You're right, Humbort but we should try to keep up anyway. I wish I was grown up and tall like you."

"I wish I was smart and brave like you," replied the tall man with a lopsided grin and he took the girl by the hand and helped her over a nasty patch of rocks that blocked their path. Within a few moments they caught up to Lousa who scanned the rocky terrain ahead for signs of Unerus and Shamki.

"They went around that corner there," she said and pointed her finger ahead.

"You are better now," said Humbort to the woman with that smile of his.

"Yes, yes, I'm feeling much better," she replied with her own smile. "I know there hasn't been time but I am rather wondering what happened back there? I remember Khemer taking the staff in his hand and Hazle realized what he was doing, the traitorous wretch; I should have seen that was what he was after all along. What a fool I am," she said and slapped her own forehead. "Of course he wanted to use the staff to bring himself back to corporeal form. How could I not have seen it?"

"What's corp ... corpral?" said Ariana.

"You answer my question first," said Lousa with a smile and then she pointed to a flash of movement up ahead. "There they are, come on, talk as we go. Khemer took up the staff and then it's all a blank."

"He cast a spell at you!" said Ariana. "Out of the staff, it was like fingers of ice and it hit you right in the b.o.o.bs!"

Lousa looked down at her chest, "They are a rather big target."

Ariana giggled and Humbort guffawed out loud and began to slap his knee with his hand.

"The next thing I remember was waking up by the fire and you and Shalalee were rubbing me," said the woman and patted Ariana on the head.

"It was mostly Hazlebub," said the girl. "She knew what to do. Tylan made the fire big and we dragged you over. You were cold all over, I thought you were dead."

"I'm tougher than I look," said Lousa with a smile at the girl. "However, my memory is coming back to me now a little bit and there was a moment there, when you brought the staff over to Khemer, you said something to him, what was it ... Illumonor?"

Ariana shrugged her shoulders, "I don't remember, it all happened so fast," she said and then began to move ahead over the rocks trying to catch up to the boys.

Lousa watched her scramble away for a few seconds and then shook her head. "Lucifor, no, what was it?"

"There!" said Shamki in his quiet voice as he and Unerus clambered on top of a large black rock, split in half, its inside beautifully smooth and glossy. The half-orc sniffed at the air and pointed down and around a small bend where a small figure dressed in a long purple robe stumbled for a moment as she tried to navigate past a field of broken boulders, the staff clutched in her left hand. "She's alone, no soldiers."

"What is she?" asked Unerus his sharp eyes able to make out some details from this distance.

"Darkling, evil," said Shamki and looked back towards where the other three members of the group struggled to keep up. "Catch before she goes ground," he finished and moved forward. He pointed with a quick flip of his wrist towards an easy path through the rubble and nodded with his head, "you flank."

Unerus wasn't exactly sure what *flank' meant but he certainly knew that he half-orc wanted him to circle around to where the darkling moved and get ahead of her. The boy immediately took to foot with quick movements between the boulders. In the meantime Shamki began his own move with a leap that took him at least ten feet across a gap in the trail and landed with a thump that sent several rocks skittering to the ground. The noise immediately made its way to the figure ahead and she abruptly turned and scanned the area for sign of pursuit. It didn't take her long to spot the swift Shamki who hopped from rock to rock like a billy goat, the distance between them narrowing in great gulps.

It took her only a few seconds of movement to realize she had no chance to escape the fast pursuer, so she stopped and turned to face him taking position on a rock that gave her a good view. She reached into her cloak and pulled out a small package but then, unable to open it with one hand, put down the Staff of Naught and quickly poured the contents into her palm. When Shamki popped up on a rock she blew into her hand and said, Powdered spider friends From the black queen's heart To my enemy your venom send!

The powder puffed into the air and then coalesced into a dozen black spiders with red diamonds on their back. The creatures were each about the size of small rabbit and they immediately began to scuttle towards the warrior who did not pause in his pursuit. Lilithia then reached back into her cloak and pulled out several more pouches, "Come no further or you will taste the sweet fangs of the Spider Queen!" she called out and this stopped Shamki, although by now he was only a dozen yards away.

"Staff, give," he said and held out his hand apparently oblivious to the small black forms that closed in on him.

"I'm not accustomed to taking orders from the slave races," said Lilithia with a demur smile. "You are a strapping young buck though. Normally you half-breeds are all useless but I think I might enjoy giving you a command or two," she continued and gave her hips a subtle little sway and arched her eyebrows at him. The first of the black spiders scuttled up onto the rock Shamki was standing upon and moved towards his foot although the half-orc kept his blade sheathed.

"We can work out an arrangement," said the woman and ran her hand over her hip as she watched the spider move towards his foot with a quick glance down.

Almost nonchalantly Shamki picked up his left foot and brought the heel of his heavy boot down upon the creature that exploded with a satisfying crunch. Three more of the creatures appeared at the edge of the rock as Lilithia gave out a pained shriek.

"Murderous sc.u.m," she called out. "The Spider Queen will have your heart!"

Shamki crushed another one of the creatures with his heel and knocked two more off the rock with a sweep of his blade that he drew with lightning speed.

The woman threw two pinches of something in the air and clapped her hands together, Black and cave blind crawling eye now your vision it will die!

And with that the region around Shamki suddenly became immersed in absolute darkness. "Kill him, children!" shrieked Lilithia, send your toxin through his body, vengeance, vengeance."

"Missed" said the voice of Shamki from a rock to the left of where he stood a moment before. Two of the black spiders rested impaled upon his sword, while a third still wriggled feebly.

"How dare you!" shrieked Lilithia. "If you kill me the Shan Ra Kal clan will hunt you down, enslave you and your family, and torture you children!"

"No kill, deal done," said Shamki with a nod of his head and a smile. "Go now," with that the half-orc gave a little bow to the woman, jumped off the backside of the boulder, and left her alone on the rock staring after him.

"Fool," she spat and then carefully put away her pouches and reached down for the staff that was no longer there. She stood, goggle eyed for a moment, her mouth opening and closing with no sound and then her gaze darted left, right, and finally up to where the blazing sun pierced the veils of black magic that protected her from its rays, and she shrieked horribly and her vision was suddenly gone. Lilithia covered her eyes and sobbed for a moment collapsing to the rocky ground where she lay with the bright light burned into her brain. Finally after long minutes she rose to her feet and blinked rapidly still unable to see in any direction, "Mother will be unhappy," she said to no one in particular and slumped her shoulders. She then began to trudge towards a small cave opening that lay ahead.

"There he is," shouted Humbort and pointed his finger to the big half-orc who sat on a rock while he carefully cleaned his sword with a piece of heavy cloth. "Shamki, Shamki!" he shouted waving his arms back and forth although the warrior did not acknowledge the movement. "Come on," he waved to Lousa and Ariana and broke into an ambling gate towards his friend.

"They really are friends," said Ariana to Lousa as the two followed along.

"They are indeed," said Lousa, "but I'm a little concerned about your brother, do you see him?"

Ariana lifted her eyes and scanned around the rocky terrain for a few moments but didn't see any sign of him. "He's gotta be okay, if he wasn't Shamki wouldn't be sitting there cleaning his sword."

"You're probably right about that, Ariana," said Lousa with a smile. The woman then stopped and looked down at her wool top and pulled it straight, wiped off some of the dust from the road, ran her hands through her long green hair a few times, and then walked towards the half-orc.

"What happened?" asked Humbort who arrived first.

"Wait," said Shamki.

"What happened?" asked Ariana who arrived next.

"Wait," said Humbort trying to imitate the solemn p.r.o.nouncement of Shamki.

"What happened," asked Lousa who arrived last.

"Wait," said Ariana and tried to make her voice as deep as possible but then started to giggle loudly.

"What's so funny?" said Lousa with a look down at the girl who proceeded to break into more girlish laughter which was shortly joined by Humbort although Shamki continued to methodically polish his sword and did not join in. Soon Lousa found herself laughing although she had no idea as to why.

"What's so funny?" said Unerus who suddenly appeared around the corner, with one hand hidden behind his back, and the two women and Humbort immediately broke into another long spell of laughter which spilled into another session each time they looked at each other. Finally, with a gasp, Ariana looked at her brother and said, "What do you have behind your back, brother dear?"

The boy bowed deeply and pulled at the arm bone with the clawed hand at the end, "I don't know why you make such a fuss about carrying it," he said and handed it over to Ariana who grabbed it eagerly and put it away in its little sack. "It's not cold or gross or anything, it's made of wood, not bone, someone just carved it is all."